Knew: From a combination of this class and Dr. Horst’s modern Latin America class, I was aware that many areas in South America considered whiteness to coincide with class. This article touches heavily on the impacts that this distinction had on early soccer stars in Brazil. With the population of Brazil consisting of a mix of African, European, and native groups, the perseverance of colonial attitudes in South America continue to impact societal relations based on race.
New: The idea of “racial democracy” was totally new to me, and I am still having a hard time fully wrapping my head around it. The two examples given in this article, Francisco Carregal and Arthur Friedenreich, offer insights of how early Brazilian soccer stars of mixed race exemplified what “racial democracy” really meant. Adopting white sociocultural norms was key to accomplishing this idea, with the whitening of the population seen as the best way to drive forward into a multiracial future. The two figures that this article focused on used many different strategies to fit in with their white neighbors. In Carregal’s case, in order to be more accepted and fully integrated into his organization, he was forced to change his dress and overall appearance in order to appear more white. Similarly, Friedenreich regularly straightened his hair and would wear hairnets while playing on the field. One of the more striking examples of players trying to exude whiteness with the goal of acceptance came in the form of Carlos Alberto. Alberto used rice powder to literally lighten the complexion of his face throughout his career. Even with black and mixed players going out of their way to conform to what was deemed as proper dress and appearance, that didn’t make them immune from discrimination. For example, although Friedenreich was a star striker on the Brazilian he was still restricted by the government from participating in some international competitions because “fielding a black player could reflect poorly on Brazil”.
